Critics: New CTA fare plan favors profits over poor

March 12, 2013|By Jon Hilkevitch | Tribune reporter

Donald Richie, left, and other people wait to ask questions about a new payment system and fees for the Chicago Transit Authority during a public meeting at CTA headquarters in Chicago. (Terrence Antonio James, Chicago Tribune)

The CTA was accused of putting the profits of its corporate partners ahead of the needs of poor people during a hearing Monday night on a new fare-payment system set to debut this summer.

Many of the approximately 60 people who attended the one-and-only hearing on the new Ventra open-fare system also complained that the CTA failed to provide adequate public notice about the hearing, which was held at CTA headquarters downtown. Some said they first read about the meeting in Monday's Tribune.

The CTA board is expected to vote Wednesday on the half-billion-dollar fare system.

But the people who testified said the plan is complicated and much more public input is needed.

Crystaline Charity, of the Auburn Gresham neighborhood, called the last-minute notification "galling."

"This is no more than a dog and pony show," CTA rider Ronald Jackson told the board. "What Rahm wants, Rahm gets," he said, referring to Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

The CTA's plan to prod people to buy the new Ventra contactless fare card, in part by increasing the cash fare on the rail system to $3 from the current $2.25, was singled out for criticism as unjust.

Keith Smith, who represents a citywide group called People Without a Voice, said the 75-cent cash fare hike should be scrapped because it would hurt low-income riders. The CTA should focus instead on "putting a Ventra card in everybody's hands," Smith said.

Several people who testified also objected to a fee that the CTA will charge — $5 per month — to transit accounts if the Ventra card is not used for 18 months. They said the so-called dormancy fee penalizes transit riders and puts the interests of the CTA's Ventra banking and credit card vendors first. The companies receive a small percentage of each fare transaction for providing processing services.

CTA President Forrest Claypool did not attend the hearing.

CTA board Chairman Terry Peterson, who was present, said the CTA will offer extensive marketing and follow-through. There will be opportunities to make changes if necessary, he added.

"This should be the system going forward," Peterson said, assuring the angry crowd that the intent is not to hurt the poor or anybody else. "If it's not working, you have an opportunity to go back and revisit it."

Ventra, which is derived from the Latin word ventus, meaning "wind,'' is the primary tool the CTA has selected for the Windy City to transition to a new fare-payment system that public transit riders will use on the CTA and the Pace suburban bus service starting this summer, officials have said.

The Metra commuter rail agency is not participating in the pilot project, which is intended as a step toward creating a universal fare card that would allow transit riders to transfer seamlessly between buses and trains, regardless of the specific agency providing the service. State legislation signed into law in 2011 requires the CTA, Metra and Pace to agree on a single shared fare card by 2015.

Under the Ventra program, all current CTA and Pace fare cards, including the Chicago Card and Chicago Card Plus, will be eliminated sometime in 2014, officials said.

The new system will allow riders to pay single fares using the contactless Ventra cards, which can be automatically replenished by linking them to personal bank accounts or reloading them with money at kiosks, and to purchase multiple-day passes just as the existing CTA Chicago Cards are used.

The Ventra cards will be linked to up to two individual accounts — one for transit fares and the other for nontransit retail purchases. CTA officials and their private partners in the Ventra investment hope the combined, all-uses card will become the top card in the wallets and purses of Chicago-area commuters.

Yet there is no requirement to obtain a Ventra card. Transit riders can choose to pay their CTA and Pace fares using personal credit or debit cards, as well as cash, officials said.

In addition, customers can opt to purchase a contactless disposable ticket usable for a single ride or as a one-day pass. A prepaid three-day, five-day and seven-day pass will be offered too.

Eventually, cellphones that are equipped with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology will also be accepted for use to pay CTA and Pace fares, officials said.

The CTA and the Regional Transportation Authority are working together so that the correct reduced fare is charged to senior citizens and disabled riders who pay with the Ventra card or use a credit/debit card in combination with their RTA reduced-fare ID card. Officials said the good news for those riders is that the flimsy magnetic strip fare card will be phased out, replaced by a sturdier, more reliable plastic one.

Plans are also in the works to connect the new open-fare system with the existing Metra Link-Up Pass, which is used by Metra riders who transfer to the CTA during rush periods, and the commuter benefits program, which allows commuters to pay for their transit tickets and passes using pretax income, officials said.

The CTA's partners in the new fare system include Cubic Transportation Systems, which was awarded a $454 million contract; MasterCard, which will handle payment processing through its network; and MetaBank, which will issue Ventra debit cards, officials said.